Could the best version of Milos Raonic prevail over the man of 2020? The answer is no. Novak Djokovic He threw gallons and accumulated another victory in 2020 that, even with the break due to the pandemic in between, begins to emerge as one of his most mature years on the court. Inside the New York bubble the Serb signed his 35º victory in a Masters 1000, taking a new bite into history after becoming the only player to win all the tournaments in this category … twice.
The final started with a single man dictating play. And that was not number one in the world. Milos Raonic displayed a very high level of precision and aggressiveness, especially with his right, thanks to which he was able to find cracks in Djokovic’s serve. A serve that was just as diminished as in other duels, including double faults.
Those double faults they began to condemn the Serbian in the fourth game, in which he signed two, in addition to an unforced error with a backhand that he really barely touched in the first set. Everything happened at the speed of light: with his serve, Raonic went deep into the court in his continuation shot, leaving Nole time to maneuver, and the rest found many holes in the face of the Serbian’s low effectiveness.
It was a very plugged-in Raonic, capable of striking luxury shots even from its weak points, such as the parallel backhand. Novak could tell tired, diluted like a sugar and a march behind Raonic when it comes to mobility. The very inertia of a match mired in very short points (the Canadian had no interest in getting into the melee from the bottom) made it difficult for Novak to find his rhythm in a tremendously surprising first set of scoring: 6-1 for Raonic. A 6-1 that is not surprising if we take a look at the Canadian’s numbers: eight winners and only two unforced errors.
During a moment of the match, exchanges from the back of the court were won by Raonic by 14 to 11. But Djokovic, to no one’s surprise, woke up. He waited his moment, patiently, in the shadows, and raised his fist to which Milos took his foot off the gas. Until 2-2 15-30, the Canadian was the only player on the court Louis Armstrong. But the Serbian picked up the pace, began to put more setbacks into play and took advantage of the fact that Raonic began to rush a little more. Break for the 4-2 in the pocket. The feeling is not new: tennis players like Novak know how to change the course of a duel, even when it veers in a totally opposite direction, in just a few minutes.
Suddenly the Serbian’s background game, who had practically not made an appearance, returned in an absolutely renewed way. In the blink of an eye, the viewer had once again the familiar feeling of the Djokovic vs Raonic: the Serbian and his tremendous solidity are ingredients that choke the Canadian’s stomach.
Nothing like the statistics of the second set with those of the first. Not a double fault by the Serbian; 13 unforced errors they emanated from the Canadian’s racket. The last set would define the final, and after such a marked dominance by Milos during the first 45 minutes of the match, Novak Djokovic had a practically ideal situation before him.
He start of third setYet it defied any hint of normalcy. It was Milos who attacked first, making his first break ball for the first hit. In a game where Djokovic’s doubts returned to service, a break could mean a shortcoming to the game given the conditions of the court and the lethality of the Canadian’s serve.
Nothing is further from the truth, Milos signed two very hasty uploads to the network and received a rest winner on his first serve home mark from Novak. The advantage and the positive dynamics disappeared with the usual solvency of one of the best receivers in history. Raonic had had his moment and couldn’t savor it for a few seconds, conceding a painful blank break.
Tactically, Novak turned the duel to the side of the backhand of a Milos that no longer had enough freshness to reverse the forehand. The failures began to be repeated from that side of the court, and the serve stopped being life-saving. Novak, impassive, did not forgive when new break balls were put in front of him. The Serbian’s cry defined his hunger, his voracity to savor the honeys of a new title.
The feeling of sufficiency that transmits the most plugged Djokovic filled the televisions in the remainder of the third set. At no time was Milos close to breaking his rival’s serve, lowering his service performance as well. On a mental level he was practically defeated, and that he had a loophole in the last game after several gifts from Novak … that he let go with a right to the center of the net.
The 1-6, 6-3 and 6-4 final reflects several important aspects. The Masters 1000 finals are still a must for Raonic, who even in his best tennis version is not able to not shake when the finish line approaches. On the other hand, Djokovic confirmed that, if the physicist allows it, his management of the hottest situations of the match continues to propel him several levels above the names of the circuit. This Djokovic was not the most effective, but he was the one who served the best tennis when it mattered throughout the week.
If with that you manage to win all the Masters 1000 at least twice and place yourself as co-leader in the classification of titles in these tournaments… Not a bad sign for the Us Open. On Monday the Grand Slams return.
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